The 2017 season is nearly at an end, with only two races to go and the penultimate to be raced this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. This will also be the last of the three consecutive rounds that took Team SUZUKI ECSTAR to Japan and Australia before arriving here. Indeed, the last two races have been positive both for Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins, marking a solid improvement in their development.

With a 4th and a 6th place for Iannone, in Japan and Australia, and a 5th ant 8th for Rins, the two Suzuki Factory riders arrive in Malaysia with renewed enthusiasm. The positives results were borne of two very different conditions: wet in Motegi and dry at Phillip Island. This indicates solid progress of the GSX-RRs that has proven to be competitive in different conditions.

The Malaysian circuit is a very fast and long one, very different from the previous tracks. The hot temperatures and high humidity will make it hard for everyone, especially for the riders. With four slow corners following two long straights, and ten medium to high-speed corners, the wide track is particularly favourable to overtaking manoeuvres but will also put a lot of stress on the engines. Its 5.5 km (3.44 miles) length makes it one of the longest circuits in MotoGP™, with a main straight measuring 920 metres or 3018.37 ft.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“The Sepang track is very different from the previous one, but we arrive here after two positive races – one on wet and one in dry, therefore we can count ourself happy and have more confidence. We are working hard to finalize some improvements we have for the machine because we truly want to end this season in the most positive way possible. Both Andrea and Alex got a boost of trust and confidence from the good results in Japan and Australia. Hopefully this will lend us further help.”

Andrea Iannone

“After two good races I’m pretty confident we are going in the right direction. I’m very happy as well because Suzuki is working really hard to improve and now we are doing better. In Australia I had fun and I felt fast with the bike. Unfortunately, in the end of the last laps the tyre was worn and I couldn’t keep my position with Crutchlow, but Sepang is a track we know really well. During the pre-season we set a good pace, but now the situation is different. The main problem here is the heat and the tyre performance, but hopefully we can put together another good race.”